NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is launching a new league to showcase draft-eligible prospects — and saving a handful of minor league teams from the chopping block.

What You Need To Know

  • Major League Baseball announced Monday it is launching a Draft League that will showcase top draft-eligible players

  • The wood-bat league will feature at least five teams — baseball officials say they’re in talks with a sixth — playing 68-game seasons during the summer

  • The five founding teams are all clubs whose major league affiliations were dropped when MLB cut the number of minor league clubs from 160 to 120

MLB announced Monday the creation of its Draft League. The wood-bat league will feature at least five teams — baseball officials say they’re in talks with a sixth — playing 68-game seasons during the summer.

Baseball announced in September it is pushing its draft back from early June to mid July starting in 2021, making it part of All-Star week festivities. MLB said in a statement the new league will give draft-eligible players “a unique opportunity to showcase their abilities and gain exposure to MLB Clubs and fans" before the draft.

The five founding teams are all clubs whose major league affiliations were dropped when MLB cut the number of minor league clubs from 160 to 120. The teams that will be involved are the Mahoning Valley (Ohio) Scrappers, the State College (Pa.) Spikes, the Trenton (N.J.) Thunder, the West Virginia Black Bears, and the Williamsport (Pa.) Crosscutters.

Major League Baseball is doing something similar with the Appalachian League, which is transitioning from a rookie league into a developmental league for some of the nation’s top college freshmen and sophomores.

The Draft League will be operated by Prep Baseball Report — a scouting, events and media organization focused on youth baseball. Kerrick Jackson, a former Southern University head coach and ex-Washington Nationals regional scouting supervisor, has been named the league’s first president.

“We are thrilled to partner with Prep Baseball Report and the founding members of the MLB Draft League to create a one-of-a-kind league that will attract the nation’s top players who are eligible for each year’s MLB Draft and allow local fans to see top prospects and future big-league stars in their hometowns,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball economics and operations. “This announcement continues MLB’s commitment to preserving and growing baseball in communities around the United States.”